THE INFLUENCE OF PACKING OVER GERMINATION OF PEPPER AND TOMATO SEEDS

It is known that the vialibity as well as the capability to keep its germination power is not only related to the botanical grouping, age of the seed, the place and method of production, but it also depends on the biological and physiological character connected with the nature of the seed itself, and the way of its conservation.

One to the great importance of this problem, a research has been conducted in order to study the correlation between the type of packing used and the duration of germination in the seeds of tomatoes and peppers. Produced in Macedonia and kept in different types of packing such as cloth bags, glass ware, polyethylene boxes, plastic bags and tin ware). Temperature conditions in the storage were between 10.7 – 23.8°C, and relative humidity of the air was between 45.7 – 85.79%. The beginning moisture of the pepper seed was -8.02% and the moisture of the tomato was -8.23%. The testing lasted eight years.

One to the findings of the research done the following can be concluded:

Taken in account the aging of the pepper seed in all of the researched types of packings the viability of the seed is diminished gradually, but not evenly, which is directly correlated with the type of packing used:

The pepper seed produced in Macedonia had great agricultural value like seed material in the fourth year of its age, being kept in all the tested packings, and especially kept in glass-jars, polyethylene boxes and plastic bags. Total germination power and energy for germination of the pepper seed had high indicators in the eight year of its age (kept in a glass jar):